Sports

Chambers Bay is the first course in the Pacific Northwest to host the U.S. Open Championship.

Today, the best golfers from around the world will tee off in the 115th U.S. Open Championship at Chambers Bay Golf Course outside of Tacoma, Washington.

On top of making history as the first course in the Pacific Northwest to ever host the event, Chambers Bay has an interesting story of its own. The site was once home to an ancient Native American fishing village, a military fort, a sand and gravel mine, a conservation area, a waste water treatment facility, and now, of course, a championship-caliber golf course.

But of the many historic venues that have hosted the U.S. Open over the years, only four have transcended the game of golf and established themselves as icons of American history as National Historic Landmarks. Continue reading to find out which courses have made the cut.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

From Cinderella stories to buzzer beaters, the NCAA basketball tournament ensures March is a month where history is made. But this year, history and the Big Dance mix to form an even more intoxicating brew: "The Big Tap" Historic Bars Tournament.

Starting in June 2014, the PreservationNation blog poured through dive bars, sports bars, tiki bars, taverns, cocktail lounges, and a slew of other establishments to crack open the stories of some of the nation’s most historic watering holes. But stirring as it was, our virtual bar crawl was merely the regular season. Now it’s time to shake things up with a little post-season drinking game.

The Historic Bars Tournament has tapped 32 joints from our menu of historic drinkeries to compete against one another in a NCAA Tournament-style, single elimination format. Each week we’ll serve another round of pairings where readers will vote for their favorite inns and alehouses. When the matchups run dry on April 3, only one bar will claim the top shelf.

Below, you’ll find the full tournament bracket with first round matchups. Here's how to vote:

To learn more about the contestants, click on any matchup in the bracket for links to our original blog post about each bar.

To make your selections during each round, scroll down to the text portion of the blog and click on a bar’s name to highlight it.

You can vote for as many or as few bars as you like during each visit, and as many times as you like during each round -- just don’t over-serve yourself.

Voting for each round will last one week and close every Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. ET. Once each round is complete, the bracket will be updated with vote counts and winners. We’ll also publish a new blog post recapping that week’s action, followed by the next round of matchups.

Now that you know the house rules, it’s finally time for tip-off. (Or is that tap-off?) Help yourself to the open bar of matchups below!

Learn More the Historic Bars Matchups

UPDATED: Voting has now closed for Round 1. Vote in the current round here.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Preservation Nation continues its tour of historic bars as we slide (or stumble) our way into the musty dugouts that have served as the home bases for sports fans across the nation as they ride the bench and cheer their favorite teams. Next up for America’s historic sports bars: the Veteran Boxers Association Ring 1 in Philadelphia.

The name "Ring 1" marks that the Philadelphia chapter was the first in the country.

When you first walk into the Veteran Boxers Association in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia, you’re not sure if you’re in a bar, a clubhouse, or a museum. But after your first drink and a spin around the room, you realize this quirky venue is all three in one.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Julia Rocchi is the director of digital content at the National Trust. By day she wrangles content; by night (and weekends), she shops local, travels to story-rich places, and walks around looking up at buildings.

In connection with today’s community cleanup of Hinchliffe, coordinated by the National Trust, the city of Paterson, and the Hinchliffe Steering Committee, PreservationNation spoke with famed Negro League historian Dr. Larry Hogan about the significance of Hinchliffe Stadium and the legacy of Negro League Baseball.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Written by Adrian Burgos, Jr., Professor, U.S. History, University of Illinois

Built in 1932, Hinchliffe Stadium is situated near Great Falls, a National Historic Landmark in Paterson, N.J.

Years before Jackie Robinson stepped across the white lines and onto Ebbets Field to make history as major league baseball's integration pioneer, decades before Roberto Clemente displayed his hitting prowess, graceful fielding, and powerful arm on North American baseball diamonds, and well before U.S. baseball fans became acquainted with the high-leg kick of Juan Marichal, the pitching gyrations of Luis Tiant, the prodigious home runs of Orlando Cepeda, other amazing performances of Big Papi David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, and Manny Ramirez, black baseball fans congregated on Saturdays to watch the Negro League’s premier talent at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, N.J. -- a historic space where African-American and Latino fans watched some of their own perform during the era of segregated baseball.... Read More →

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.

Although we're always on the lookout for blog content, we encourage readers to submit story ideas or let us know if you've seen something that might be interesting and engaging for a national audience. Email us at editorial@savingplaces.org.

The PreservationNation blog features stories, news, and notes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation as well as the wider preservation movement. Have a great story to share? Email us! And visit PreservationNation.org to learn more about people saving places.

The Fine Print

While the writers of the PreservationNation blog are on staff at the National Trust for Historic Preservation or affiliated organizations, their posts are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.